Women’s Sport Week showcase: Vicki Dunnet

To celebrate Women’s Sport Week 2016, Scottish Rugby is showcasing women who are making a difference to rugby in Scotland. Vicki Dunnet has been playing rugby for three years and says the sport has given her confidence to try new things. She is one of eight girls selected for the 16-strong Scottish Rugby Youth Panel, which will act as a voice for young people and inform the implementation and development of Schools and Youth programmes.Name: Vicki Dunnet Age: 14Club: CaithnessRole: Player & volunteerI play rugby because … I enjoy all aspects of the game from training to our matches and all the friendships I have made through the game.  As I am small person people think I’m a walk over until they see me tackle.How long have you been involved in rugby? I started playing when I was 11, so three years. Why did you get involved? I went to a summer camp held at our rugby club. Colin Sangster took the camps and through them I realised I wanted to get more involved.What do you love about rugby? I love that it is a very fast paced game which involves a lot of skills. It is also a good way of making new friends from around the country as everyone is very friendly.Why should women get involved in rugby? Because as a saying goes, rugby invented by men, perfected by women. On a serious note it gives you confidence and has lots of transferable skills that you can take to other sports. How has sport made an impact on your life? It has given me great confidence to try new things and I have made friends with lots of people who I would not have met. What would you say to a woman or girl who is thinking about giving rugby a go? To try it and not be scared of what you see. As scary as tackling and being tackled looks, once you master it it’s a great feeling when you put in a great one.  Any shape or size can play rugby so go along to your local club and give it a go.Try rugbyWomen and girls can sign up at scottishrugby.org to kick start their involvement in what is a unique game for all shapes, sizes and abilities. There are plenty of ways to get involved from coaching to refereeing and volunteering as well as playing.